Both local entrants in the IHSA Class 1A Boys Tennis State Tournament drew seeded opponents in the first round.
The La Salle-Peru doubles team of Andrew Bollis and Danny Santoy will face Nazareth’s Declan Foley and Ryan Nelson, a 9-16 seed, at Vernon Hills High School on Thursday morning.
“I think their first-round matchup is about all you can ask for without getting greedy,” L-P coach Aaron Guenther said. “Nine to 16 seeds are oftentimes beatable, then you’re guaranteed an unseeded team in the second round since the seeds are spaced out throughout the draw. While an unseeded team first is nice, you could draw a top seed the next round. I don’t know much about their opponents other than they got third in their sectional and were 5-2 during the regular season, but I’d say that if Danny and Andrew are playing at the top of their game anything is possible.”
Princeton junior Tyson Phillips will play Champaign Central junior Ezra Bernhard, a 5-8 seed who is 41-3, at Rolling Meadows High School.
“Tyson’s first round will be tough,” Princeton coach Connie Lind said.
Both area state entrants have prior state tournament experience.
Bollis has played at the state tournament the past two seasons, while Santoy will get his first taste of state tennis as a sophomore.
“Absolutely, Andrew’s state experience will help,” Guenther said. “State can be a little overwhelming at times with so many great players to see and get intimidated by. Having Andrew there will not only provide a calming presence for Danny, it gives our team a little backbone to where we won’t back down from competition. Andrew has been there, won a match and is hungry for more. I think Danny will rise to the occasion and the two will be successful.”
Phillips qualified for state last spring.
“I’m hoping last year’s experience will make him more mentally tough,” Lind said.
With Bollis and Santoy set to return next season, Guenther hopes this year’s state experience can help the pair build for the future.
“My goal for them is to have fun and learn something,” Guenther said. “The odds of them being state champions are slim to none, but both of them are coming back next year, so paying attention to what those top teams are doing and then taking that back home to work on is essential.
“I’m never one to say, ‘Hey, you made it, that’s good enough for me.’ I want them to compete at their highest level, and I want them to win. But you also need to recognize what you’ve accomplished to this point of your season. I want them to have fun, but don’t take it for granted and work hard and compete hard every ball of every match.”
Guenther said the Cavalier duo needs to play consistent while also playing aggressive when necessary.
“Rule No. 1 of tennis is get the ball in the court,” Guenther said. “At times, both Danny and Andrew struggle with that. But when they keep that ‘one more ball’ mindset, they are tough to beat. They also need to be aggressive but wisely aggressive. To just sit and dink the ball back is a losing strategy at this level. They need to be aggressive at the net and try to take as many points as they can while balancing not being reckless and making silly mistakes.
“It’s a tough line to toe, but these two have done it before, and there’s no reason they can’t do it this week.”
Lind said she’d like to see Phillips improve on last year’s performance.
“My goals at state for him are to win more games than last year and make it to the second round,” Lind said. “I want him to have fun and enjoy that he’s playing at the state tournament.”
